Before It's Too Late
by The Alice Killer - Storm
Summary: There's a murderer on the loose. His victims all have something in common. Well, two things. They're all guitarists and they're all murdered in brutal ways. Will anyone be able to catch him before it's too late and he achieves his goal?
1. Gone

"A girl was found dead in her home. Her right eye was gouged out and found lying beside her. The autopsy report revealed that the inside of her throat had been cut with something sharp. The analysis team believes that those throat wounds occurred after her death. For her privacy, her name will not be released. Our prayers are with that family."

The TV was promptly turned off.

"They didn't even say if they had any leads…"

"Ran…"

"Why aren't they talking about finding out who did it? Thoughts won't do anything!" Ran slammed her hands down onto the coffee table with a lot of force.

"Ran, calm down. I know it's tough… but, yelling about it won't change anything. Just take a deep breath." Tomoe did her best to intervene before Ran did any damage to herself.

She had already cut her hands by accident from another outburst earlier. They really didn't need to end up going to the hospital because she was upset. They'd like to just stay at home.

"I just want answers… why did she have to die? Why her?" Why Moca…?" Ran whispered, her eyes filling up with tears again.

"I wish we knew… but, for now, we just have to keep moving forward. We can't let this stop us from doing anything. I know you just want to mope around, but it'll make you feel worse." Himari said as she handed Ran another tissue.

It wasn't that the other three girls weren't upset as well. It was just that Ran was closer to Moca. And, that she felt like she had failed her. Ran regretted that night.

Moca had texted her, saying she felt like someone was in her house that shouldn't be. It wasn't uncommon for Moca to play pranks like that. Ran brushed it off, thinking nothing of it. But, Moca started texting more about it, causing Ran to realize it definitely wasn't a joke. But, when she arrived, it was too late.

The scene haunted her. Ran wished she could erase it from her memory. The sight of the murder scene was horrible. Moca was laying on the floor, her face forever frozen in an expression of sheer terror. Her missing eye was tossed across the room. There was blood everywhere. Ran had barely managed not throwing up or blacking out.

"It's getting late. Why don't we go to bed?" Tsugumi suggested.

"Yeah. That's a good idea." Himari and Tomoe agreed.

Ran said nothing. She was just blankly staring at the ground.

"Come on, Ran. Let's head up to bed." Tomoe nudged her slightly.

They were all hanging out at Ran's. They were worried about leaving her alone. So, they decided to stay together for a little bit.

Ran gave Tomoe a very slight nod. She stood up and walked away. Tomoe sighed and went after her. Himari and Tsugumi looked at each other before they followed.

**DIVIDER-- **

Moca hated that she couldn't do anything. She was stuck watching her friends suffer. She hated being dead. She couldn't do anything but stare and wish she could comfort them all.

Even if she did touch them, they just felt cold. No one pieced together that the cold was her. They just assumed it was a draft. Moca couldn't figure out how to do anything else. She tried picking things up, but it didn't work. She couldn't make herself appear even for a split second. She was stuck in a world they couldn't see.

Moca sighed and left them be. She decided to go and check on what her killer was up to. She was just one of hundreds of his victims. Moca knew she probably wasn't the last on his list. But, she was determined to make sure he couldn't get anyone else. She'd do everything in her power to protect his next target from death.

Moca found him in his hideout as always. She sighed. Why did this guy feel like he needed to do this? What was the point? She couldn't figure that out no matter what she saw. He was still as mysterious as always. Nothing had changed. He still was a mystery. No one could link him to anything. He was good at hiding his tracks.

Moca knew two things about him. One, he only targeted guitarists. Two, he posed as a producer to get these people alone. Moca had been approached by him, but she had declined. It had made no difference to him. He still killed her in the end.

Moca watched him carefully. He seemed to be drawing up a plan. She needed to know who he was planning to go after next. She needed enough time to warn them. Even if she wasn't quite sure how to warn them. She really didn't know how to be a ghost.

"Boss? You finish planning it yet?" The guy's assistant came into the room.

"Almost. Just have to figure out how to approach her. But, that won't be too hard. Soon enough, I'll have another one dead." The killer smiled.

"Who are you targeting again?"

Moca was glad the assistant was forgetful. Now she could learn who it was as well. Otherwise, she wasn't sure how she'd have found it out. He never wrote down their names. He just knew.

"Hikawa Sayo." The killer replied, "I believe that band that she's in is getting too popular. I don't approve."

Moca gulped. She now knew three things. He also targeted those in popular bands only. Now, she had a very important task. She needed to somehow tell Sayo what was going to happen and make sure she didn't get killed.

That was definitely going to be harder done than said. She had no idea where to even begin. How could she tell Sayo anything when she couldn't appear before her and talk. Could she somehow manage otherwise? She wasn't sure.

Moca wasn't sure what to do, so she decided to go visit her grave for a bit. Sitting there usually helped her think. As sad as it was to be sitting by her own grave, that is. Moca hated looking at it, but it also helped her a little. She did have to come to terms with being dead. Seeing her grave sometimes helped with that.


	2. Sending Signs Isn't Easy

Moca was not expecting to find people at her grave. Sure, it wasn't that late, but still. As she got closer, she was actually happy. It was exactly who she was looking for.

Sayo and Lisa were at her grave together. Moca walked over to them. She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't think there was much she could do.

"Are you going to be here a while?" Sayo asked Lisa.

"Just for a little." Lisa replied.

"It's so weird… knowing she's gone." Sayo whispered.

"Yeah… it's tough… I miss her a lot." Lisa nodded.

"You were close to her, weren't you?" Sayo asked.

"Yeah. I'd say we were pretty good friends." Lisa replied.

"And no one knows what happened to her…" Sayo whispered.

She ran her hand down the carving on Moca's gravestone. Moca realized this could be her chance to do something. She could give Sayo her memories so she knew what had happened. Maybe that could be a starting place?

Moca decided it was good enough. She took a deep breath and linked herself to Sayo. She hoped this would work.

**DIVIDER-- **

_Sayo opened her eyes to see herself in an unfamiliar room. She had clue what was going on. She realized she couldn't move. A loud banging started on the door. Sayo couldn't move, but her body jumped up._

_The door was busted open. Sayo stared in fear as an unfamiliar person entered the room. They held a knife in their hand._

_"Aoba Moca. Your time has come to die."_

_Sayo realized now what was going on. She was reliving Moca's death. She wasn't sure why and she definitely didn't want to continue this. Unfortunately, she didn't think she was getting out of this early._

_"W-what do you mean?" Sayo, well Moca, said._

_"See this knife? It's going to be your end." The killer smirked as he charged._

_The knife found its way into her right eye. Sayo was overwhelmed by excruciating pain. She couldn't do anything but scream in pain. It hurt so much._

_The killer yanked out the knife, taking the eye with it. He shook the eyeball off. Sayo was roughly grabbed. The killer smirked. He teased her with the knife._

_"You think that's painful? Just wait. I'll make it even worse." The killer said._

_He suddenly rammed the knife down her throat. Sayo couldn't even comprehend the amount of pain she was feeling. It was so bad. Then, he started twisting the knife around, cutting up her throat even more._

_Sayo could do nothing but gag. She couldn't do anything. Moments later, her eyes fell shut. It was over._

**DIVIDER-- **

"Sayo? Come on. Wake up!" Sayo came back to reality to find that she was lying on the ground and Lisa was shaking her.

_How long did that last?,_ Sayo wondered.

"Are you alright?"

"What happened?" Sayo asked.

"I don't know. You just blacked out." Lisa replied, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Sayo reassured her. She wasn't going to say what happened. Would Lisa even believe her?

"Alright. I think we should head home. You should take it easy." Lisa said.

"I'm fine, Imai-san. I promise." Sayo replied.

"Still, let's go back."

The two of them stood up and left the cemetery. Moca followed them. She hoped this was going to work. Now that Sayo knew the truth, maybe things would be easier. At least now she knew what the guy was capable of doing.

Sayo and Lisa soon split and went their own ways. Moca went after Sayo. She was still unsure how to proceed. She didn't know what she could do. Maybe she could manage to move something?

Sayo soon made it to her house and went to her room. Moca decided now was the best time to do it. She took a deep breath and tried to move anything. She succeeded in moving some papers. She could do it then.

Moca wasn't sure what to do next. What could show Sayo what was going to happen to her? Moca looked at her phone. Maybe she could turn it on? Could she gather enough strength to use the phone? It was her best bet.

Moca focused all her energy on turning on Sayo's phone. Sayo looked at it in confusion as it showed no notifications. Moca managed to open it and get to the notes app. If she could just get a few words down, this could work.

"Who's there?" Sayo asked. She was freaked out, as one would expect.

Moca did her best to type on the phone. It was tough and very draining. She didn't know if she could do this for very long.

_Moca_

"Moca… why are you here?" Sayo accepted the fact. It wasn't like she could blame this on anything else.

_Warning_

Moca hated that she couldn't manage an entire sentence. She just had to put the most important words down and hope that it got the message across. She sighed when she realized this may turn into a very intense guessing game.

"A warning about what?"

_Death_

_You_

Moca hoped that was enough. She couldn't manage to do much more. She was feeling really weak. Why did she have to have energy even as a ghost? Why couldn't she be able to do whatever with no worries?

"What do you mean?" Sayo's tone changed. It held a bit of fear in it, telling Moca she understood some of it.

_Killer_

_You_

_Next_

"I don't understand."

Moca sighed. She knew this would happen. She reached out and touched Sayo. Looks like she had to show her. Moca brought Sayo back to when she had learned about her being the next target.

When Sayo came back, it was obvious she now understood the message. She had a look of fear in her eyes, as Moca expected. Sayo knew if she didn't do something, she would be the next victim. But, she didn't know what she could do.

"Moca, at the cemetery… was that you that… gave me those memories?" Sayo asked quietly.

_Yes_

"So… the report is wrong. All those wounds happened before you died…" Sayo whispered, "I'm sorry it was so horrible."

_Worry_

_You_

"Yeah… I guess I should be more concerned with myself right now." Sayo nodded, "Do you have any ideas?"

_Next_

_Night_

_Come_

_Killer_

"He's… he's doing it tomorrow night?" Sayo gulped, "Who is he?"

Moca managed to use the rest of her energy to open up Sayo's email. She pulled up the messages sent from the guy. He had emailed Sayo earlier to ask about meeting up to discuss getting a producer.

"Him? So… should I not go?" Sayo asked.

_No_

_Matter_

_Die_

_Anyway_

"I see… you refused and he still killed you, right? So… I just have to be prepared." Sayo sighed, "This will be tough. Isn't there a way for me to report him?"

"Onee-chan? Who ya talking to?" Hina knocked on the door.

Sayo jumped, "Um… just talking to myself."

"Okay! I was gonna go have a sleepover at Aya's. See ya later!" Hina left.

"Is she in danger?" Sayo asked, "If… he comes here?"

_Witness_

_Yes_

"So, if she doesn't see him, he won't care. Alright." Sayo sighed, "Anyway, can I report him?"

_No_

_Tried_

_No_

_Work_

"I see… he's very sneaky then, isn't he? Looks like I'm on my own, huh? Unless I want to risk anyone else getting hurt…"

_Weapon_

_Keep_

"Right. I'll find something." Sayo agreed, "Are you staying or going?"

_Check_

_Friends_

_Back_

_Night_

Moca wasn't able to manipulate the phone anymore. Her energy had run out. She'd have to wait a while.

"Alright." Sayo said and then she left her room, "See you then."

Moca followed her just to see what she was doing. Sayo was searching for a weapon to keep in her room. Moca was content with that and left to go check on the members of Afterglow.

She had done all she could for Sayo. It was up to her to save herself. Moca hoped she could succeed. She didn't want another to fall victim to him.


	3. No Use

Sayo wasn't sure what to do. She had fallen into an uneasy sleep. Every slight noise woke her up.

When morning had come, she had barely slept. Sayo had spent the rest of her day anxiously holed up in her room. Every noise made her jump. She hated this. She barely left her room. She had eaten a little bit for breakfast and had not come out since.

Sayo had grabbed a knife from the kitchen and set it on close by. She could grab it if she needed it. Hopefully she could defend herself. Maybe he'd give up if she put up a fight? That was all she could hope for.

When Hina had come home, she immediately barged into Sayo's room to tell her all the fun stuff her and Aya had done. Sayo barely stopped herself from pointing the knife at her. It had scared her a lot.

Sayo luckily didn't raise any suspicion in Hina. That was the last thing she needed. She couldn't tell Hina what was going on. She couldn't risk her getting hurt as well.

As night fell, Sayo grew even more jumpy and anxious. She couldn't have slept if she wanted to. Her body just wouldn't let her. Sayo kept the knife tightly in her grasp. She was ready. At least, she hoped she was.

She debated locking her door. If she didn't, he could easily get in, but if she did, he'd break down the door and alert Hina. If only their parents were home. That would make this a lot easier. Maybe.

Sayo remembered that Moca's parents had been home when that happened and they didn't know. Ran had been the one to find her. They were completely unaware until then. So, maybe even if her parents were home, it wouldn't do anything.

Sayo eventually did lock her door. She was curled up on her bed in the corner. She was scared. Sayo was hoping Moca would come back soon. It would be helpful to have someone who could see outside of the room.

Unfortunately, Moca wasn't there. She was still with the others. It was not a good day for them again.

Sayo heard what sounded like footsteps coming closer. She didn't know if she was imagining it. Her mind had been playing tricks on her all day.

She realized it wasn't a hallucination when her door was unlocked. Whoever was out there had a key. That's not good. Sayo gulped. She was shaking as she gripped the knife tightly.

The door opened. The guy Sayo had seen from those memories was there. She held out the knife, trying to be threatening. She knew he was here for her.

"Hikawa Sayo. It seems you were expecting me." The killer said.

"L-leave me alone. I'm not afraid to attack you." Sayo growled.

"Who told you?" The killer said as he shut the door and walked closer to Sayo.

"Your most recent victim." Sayo said.

"I doubt that. But, it doesn't matter." The man yanked the knife out of her grip before she could react, "You'll be dead before long."

Her knife was thrown to the side. She had nothing to defend herself with now. Sayo tried to run, but he grabbed her before she could. A knife cut open her throat. Sayo fell to her knees as she coughed up blood.

"If she truly did visit you, then you know what to expect." The killer said.

He grabbed Sayo by her hair and pulled her up. He pressed the knife to her throat and cut. He cut out a square of her flesh and tossed it to the side. Sayo had gone limp. She was losing so much blood.

"Too bad such a nice voice will never be heard again." The killer chuckled as he slashed her vocal cords and anything else in his way to them.

Sayo was dead within seconds of that. The man laughed softly. He started stabbing her head and then left. He had done his job. One more was down.

Moca came by only minutes after the attack. She froze in fear as she saw the scene. She hadn't survived.

_I'm sorry..._

Moca looked around. Was Sayo here or was she in the spirit world?

Moca didn't see her around, so she assumed she was indeed in the spirit world. Moca would visit her soon. She first wanted to alert someone that this had happened.

She found her way to Hina's room. Moca had regained her energy. She roughly slammed a book off of Hina's dresser. Hina jumped awake. Moca did it again with another book. Hina wasn't sure how to react.

"Um… hello?" Hina called.

Moca flung open the door. Hina jumped again. She hesitantly stood up and walked to the door. Moca managed to open Sayo's door, but very slowly. Hina walked over to it and pushed open the door.

She screamed. Moca knew she saw the inside of the room.

"Onee-chan!"

"Wake up… please…"

"This is a dream… right?"

Moca frowned as she entered the room. Hina was sobbing as she clung to Sayo's body. Moca didn't know if she should do anything. Should she just leave her? No. That didn't feel right.

Moca moved Sayo's phone over to Hina. Hina stared in confusion. She opened the phone. Moca changed the page to the notepad app. It was still open to the notes Moca had made before.

Moca added onto it instead of making a new one.

_Sorry_

_Failed_

"Moca? That's you doing this?" Hina asked.

_Yes_

"Where's onee-chan?" Hina asked.

_No_

_Idea_

Moca wished she knew. Maybe she should've gone to find Sayo before doing this? Then she could've talked to Hina. But, it was too late for that now.

"Who killed her?" Hina asked.

_Email_

Hina opened the emails. She was already ont he one she needed to see. When she tried to click off, Moca forced her back to that page.

"So… this guy? Is that his name?" Hina asked.

_No_

_Fake_

"I see… so, it won't do anything…" Hina sighed.

_Report_

"Right. I'll do that. Um… can you find onee-chan?"

_Try_

"Thank you… good luck." Hina said, "I'm sorry you had to die too… I'll do my best to get him caught."

Hina called the police. Moca left and went to the spirit world. She started asking around to see if anyone had seen Sayo. She was led to a desolate area. Sayo was there. She was sitting by the edge of a cliff.

"Sayo." Moca called.

"Moca…"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault… he knows what he's doing…"

"Want to go see Hina?" Moca asked.

"Can I?"

"Yeah. You can leave whenever." Moca nodded.

"Then, I'd like that." Sayo stood up.

Moca showed Sayo what to do and then they appeared back at the house. Hina was now in the living room, most likely waiting for the police to arrive.

"What can I do?" Sayo asked, "Is there anyway to let her know I'm here?"

"It took me a bit to learn how to do things, so I'm not sure. You can try moving something first. It's the easiest thing to do." Moca replied.

Sayo tried, but failed to move anything. She sighed. Looks like she couldn't do anything right now.

"I can talk for you." Moca said, "If you really wanna talk to her."

"No… it's fine." Sayo said, "I'll wait."

"Alright. Well, what do you want to do?"

"Show me where he lives."

**DIVIDER-- **

"We are saddened to bring you news of another murder. The victim was found dead in their home late last night. Their throat had been carved open and all the nerves and cords inside were cut in half. There were also puncture wound in her head. The autopsy team believes it may be connected to a similar case just a few days ago."

"At least they didn't assume you died from the head wounds and not your throat." Moca said to try and lighten the mood.

"I think they just said that for you to make it seem less severe." Sayo replied.

"Maybe…" Moca sighed, "Anyway, I'm gonna go see what Afterglow are up to."

"Alright."

After Moca left, Sayo decided to go do something herself. She went to the hideout and looked to see if she could find anything about his next victim. They hadn't found anything but they heard him talking about his plans to kill the next person.

Moca had filled Sayo in on what she knew about his targets. But, it wasn't helpful if they didn't have anything to start with. Sayo searches around his work area, looking for anything that might give away something.

She found something opened on his tablet. She looked at it. It was his email account. It looked as though he had just sent a new email to someone. Sayo couldn't tell from the email, so she started reading the message.

"Asahi Rokka…" Sayo whispered, "Isn't that… that girl?"

Looks like she had a lot to discuss once Moca returned. She was willing to help her try and save someone. She might not have been able to be saved, but maybe with two of them, they could manage it.


	4. What Can We Do?

It was taking Moca a long time to get back, so Sayo decided to go and do her own thing for a bit. She wasn't sure where to start in helping the next victim, so she decided to go see how Hina was doing.

Moca was still hanging out with Afterglow. Things were a little better for them. But, they all knew exactly what happened to Sayo. They knew it was whoever killed Moca. There was no denying it with the way she was murdered.

"Do you think there's anything we could do to help solve this case? Like, any way we could find info?" Himari asked.

Moca knew that wasn't very wise. Several others had tried. What became of them? They've all gone missing. Moca knew what happened though. The killer's assistant took them away and killed them. You knew the assistant was responsible if the victims were dismembered.

Moca reached out and moved a piece of paper on the coffee table. Everyone stared at it in confusion. Moca pushed it off the table but made sure only that moved. That way they knew it wasn't a draft of air this time.

"What's going on?" Tsugumi asked in fear.

"It was probably just a slight breeze. Himari was just moving around." Tomoe tried to brush it off.

Moca sighed. Of course they wouldn't instantly assume supernatural. She'd have to do more. But, what should she do? She didn't want to scare them too much. The only reason she had gone and scared Hina was to make sure she knew it was urgent. This wasn't urgent.

Moca picked up a pencil and held it in the air. Everyone was looking at it with scared expressions. There was no way they could deny this. Moca just hoped she wasn't going to make them run off in fear. She gently set the pencil back down.

"W-who are you?" Tomoe was the first to ask.

Moca didn't see anyone's phone. So, now what could she do? That was what she relied on to communicate. Maybe she could manage with the pencil and paper? Even just to write out the word phone?

Moca did her best, but she could barely write with the pencil. It just came out as scribbles. It wasn't legible at all. She sighed. How come other ghosts made it seem so easy to do these things?

"I'm scared…" Tsugumi whispered.

"What do we do?" Ran asked.

"Um… here! Can you use my phone to speak?" Himari set her phone on the table, "I… I've seen it happen in movies but… does it work in real life?"

Moca was glad that Himari had done that. Now she did have a way to communicate better. Though, it didn't seem like she wasn't going to scare them. Moca knew the moment she turned on that phone and started typing, they'd get even more freaked out.

Moca turned on the phone. Himari had a passcode on it. She couldn't open it. Himari thankfully noticed and unlocked it for her.

Moca hesitated, before she opened up the notes app. She looked at everyone. Tsugumi was extremely pale. Moca was worried she'd pass out if she did much more. But, she needed to talk to them.

_Hi_

Moca wasn't sure what to start with, so she pretended as if this was a normal conversation between the five of them. Though, it seemed like it was going to be between four of them before long. Tsugumi definitely was even more terrified now.

"Who are you?" Himari asked. She seemed the least afraid.

_Moca_

"Moca? It's really you?" Ran whispered.

_Yes_

"What are you here for?" Tomoe asked.

_Warn_

"About what?" Himari asked.

_Don't__Investigate_

"Why not?" Ran demanded, "We need to find out who's doing this."

_Die_

"What?" Everyone went pale.

_Helper_

Moca then switched to the web and searched up the dismembered cases that had popped up recently. She found the site she wanted and then backed off.

Himari hesitantly picked up her phone and read through the article, "His helper has done this?"

"So… if he knows someone is looking, he gets rid of them." Tomoe stated.

Moca switched back to the notes.

_No__Only__Threat_

"So, if you're catching onto him, then he sends that guy to do it?" Ran asked.

_Yes_

"That's not good…"

"Moca? Why did he kill you?" Tsugumi stammered.

_Not__Sure_

Moca still had no clue what his final intentions were for these murders. Why did he need to kill people? It seemed like there was a reason other than for fun. So, why kill guitarists of popular bands? What was the point?

"Do you know anything about why he targeted you?" Ran asked.

_Guitar__Popular_

"So… if you play guitar and are pretty well known, he wants you dead?" Himari asked.

_Think_

"Is that why he killed Sayo too?" Tomoe asked.

_Yes_

**DIVIDER-- **

While Moca was busy with them, Sayo had made her way to her house. Hina was home. She was in her room watching something on her phone.

Sayo sighed. She still didn't know if she could move anything. She tried. This time, she managed. It was just a simple paper clip, but it was progress.

Sayo focused as hard as she could and managed to move it onto the floor. Hina noticed and looked. Sayo looked at Hina's phone. Could she manage to do what Moca had done?

Sayo tried. It was hard but she had managed to change the phone screen. She brought it to the notes app. She just hoped she could manage to type for a while. She already felt drained from just doing those few things.

"Moca?" Hina asked.

Sayo knew she shouldn't be surprised, but she wished Hina thought it was her instead. Sayo struggled to type anything out. It took a few minutes for her to manage.

_No_

"Onee-chan?" Hina guessed.

_Yes_

"How are you doing?" Hina asked quietly.

_Bad_

"Right…" Hina sighed, "Um… why're you here?"

_See you_

Sayo didn't think she would be able to keep this up for much longer. She was barely getting the words out now.

"I've been investigating who this guy might be. I'm not having much luck. Um… do you know if he's planning to kill anyone else?" Hina asked.

Sayo couldn't manage to type anything else. She used the little energy she had left and switched to a webpage that had Rokka's name. She zoomed in on it and then she could do no more.

"She's next? But why?" Hina whispered.

Sayo couldn't say anything, but she didn't know anything anyway. She still couldn't understand why he was doing this. Even with what she knew from Moca, it still made no sense. His motives were still unknown.

"Onee-chan?" Hina called.

Sayo sighed. She couldn't reach her anymore. She hesitantly touched Hina, hoping she'd understand the cold she felt was her. Hina seemed to. Sayo wished she could do more, but there wasn't anything else she could do.

"Sayo!"

Sayo was startled as Moca entered the room. She glared at her after she regained her composure. Moca gave her an innocent smile.

"What do you want?" Sayo asked.

"I was looking for you." Moca replied, "I think I found something out about him."

"What is it?" Sayo asked.

"I'll show you." Moca motioned for Sayo to follow her.

Sayo looked at Hina one last time, before she followed Moca out of the house. They went back to the killer's hideout.

"I found something interesting. I think it's becoming clear why he's doing it." Moca said as she showed Sayo to a stack of papers.

"What am I looking at?" Sayo asked.

"This seems to be his daughter. And, guess what?" Moca said.

"She plays guitar?" Sayo guessed.

Moca nodded, "Bingo! He might be killing off competition so she is number one. Dunno why, but I think that might be it."

"Seems a little extreme. Couldn't he just make her practice until she's perfect?" Sayo asked.

"I remember seeing a video of her before. She, for a lack of better terms, sucks." Moca said.

"I see…" Sayo sighed, "So, he'll kill anyone that he feels is a threat to her popularity."

"But, once she is number one, what'll happen then? Because, at some point, it'll become clear she never was a target." Moca said.

"That's true. Maybe he hadn't thought about that?" Sayo suggested.

"I hope we don't get to find out. We need to stop him somehow." Moca said.

"The next victim… is the guitarist for Raise A Suilen." Sayo announced, "I saw his email to her earlier."

"Well, we better go warn her then." Moca said.

"Yeah. We should. Who knows how long we'll have." Sayo agreed.


	5. Please Believe Us

Sayo and Moca had to search for where Rokka was. They had no clue where to start. After a little bit of searching around, Sayo suggested they check to see if the band was practicing at the moment.

So, that's what they did. And that's where they found her. They didn't know if they should try and interrupt the session or wait until they were done practicing.

"Alright. Looks like they're taking a break." Moca said.

"We can't do it if other people are around." Sayo stated.

"Why not?" Moca asked, "Wouldn't it be fine if more people knew? Cause I'm thinking this group has the ability to get security around. They might actually have a chance if more people know."

"And what if it fails? You'll be risking multiple lives then." Sayo argued.

"I know what I'm doing." Moca said.

"I don't think you do." Sayo shot back.

Neither realized that someone was staring at them. She looked around to see if anyone else was seeing what she was, but the others didn't react. She stepped out of the room, saying she wanted to run to the bathroom.

"Um, why are you two here?"

Sayo and Moca went quiet. They stared at them in shock. Rokka was standing before them. She made sure she was out of sight from the others.

"You can see us!?"

"Y-yeah?" Rokka was startled by the question, "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"Because we're ghosts." Sayo said, "You shouldn't be able to see us."

"G-ghosts!? But… but how?" Rokka stammered.

"Don't you know? Both of us got killed." Moca said.

"I… I wasn't aware." Rokka mumbled, "They didn't release your names then."

"Oh… right…" Moca sighed.

"Anyway, we came here to talk to you. Do you have enough time?" Sayo asked as she crossed her arms.

"Probably not. Um… I can ask to go early if it's urgent but…" Rokka replied.

"It is quite urgent. But, I think you'll be fine for the rest of the time. We'll wait until everyone is done." Moca said.

"O-okay, if you say so." Rokka nodded and then went back into the room.

"You sure we shouldn't have just asked her to leave?" Sayo asked.

"I think we'll have enough time later. And, if you don't want anyone else to know, I suggest we do it this way." Moca replied, "Otherwise someone might come check on her later."

"Very well." Sayo sighed.

**DIVIDER-- **

When practice was finished, Rokka nervously met back up with the two ghosts. Sayo and Moca had discussed places they might want to talk at, but they weren't sure. Rokka offered to talk at her house where she would be alone. They agreed and the three of them went there.

They sat on the floor in Rokka's room. Rokka was nervously fiddling with her fingers. She wasn't very comfortable being with two ghosts that apparently only she could see and hear.

"So, what's the problem?" Rokka asked.

"The guy that killed us is after you." Moca stated.

"E-eh!?"

"Yeah… we don't know when he's planning to do it. But, you need to be prepared. He should've sent you an email asking to meet you to talk." Sayo said.

"Oh…" Rokka pulled out her phone and opened up the message, "He wants to meet tomorrow evening. What should I do?"

"It doesn't matter if you go or not. He'll come for you anyway. So, the best you can do is be prepared." Moca said.

"Should I tell anyone?" Rokka asked.

"It depends. If anyone tries to stop him, they'll get killed as well. So, you should choose carefully if you're going to tell anyone." Moca replied.

"I see… is there any way to get him off of me?" Rokka asked.

"Quit playing guitar." Sayo said, "He's after guitarists that are better than his daughter. At least, that's what we believe is the case."

"So… there's nothing I can really do…"

"Unfortunately not."

"Um… if I went to the meeting, what would happen?" Rokka asked.

"He'll kill you there. It makes it easier since no one will be around." Moca explained.

"Okay…"

"We'll be keeping tabs on him so if we learn any more we'll tell you." Sayo said.

"Okay… thank you."

"Good luck. We can't do much to stop him since we're ghosts so it's up to you." Moca said.

"I'll do my best." Rokka promised.

Moca and Sayo got up and left. They walked down the street, not really sure where they wanted to go.

"Well… that went better than expected." Moca said.

"I agree. I don't understand, though. Why can she see us?" Sayo said.

"Who knows. We should just be glad that she can." Moca replied.

"I still can't help but be curious." Sayo said, "But anyway, what are we going to do now?"

"Well, I think someone needs to be watching that guy at all times until we learn what we need to." Moca said after a few minutes of thought.

"How are we going to do it?" Sayo asked.

"12 hour shifts or should we break it up more?" Moca asked in reply.

"I think that's too long. It should maybe be three or four hours at max." Sayo replied.

"Alright. How about three hours. That way it's evenly divided into a day." Moca said.

"I think that can work. You want to go first or should I?" Sayo asked.

"I'll go first." Moca said, "You can do whatever. I'll get you if I learn anything."

"Alright. See you in three hours then." Sayo said.

**DIVIDER-- **

Sayo wasn't sure what to do while she waited. She eventually decided she wanted to go see everyone in Roselia. Moca was always hanging out with Afterglow, so why shouldn't she at least go see the others?

Sayo first stopped to see what Hina was up to. She was amazed to find Hina hard at work doing what looked like research. She truly was dedicated to finding out the identity of the guy. Sayo debated telling her his location, but decided it was probably not a good idea.

Sayo left her to work. She didn't think she should disturb her when she was so focused. Especially not if there was a chance she was actually catching onto something.

Sayo wasn't sure who she should go to first. She felt it would be nice to have them all together, but she wasn't sure if that would happen. She had no idea what they've been up to since her death.

Sayo found her way to Lisa. She ran into her by sheer luck. Sayo wasn't sure what to do. Should she just follow her as she walked down the street? Or should she try and get her attention. Sayo decided to follow her since the streets were crowded with people. Lisa wouldn't think much of anything touching her or hearing a voice.

Well, if Sayo could somehow use her voice, she knew it would catch her attention. She was certain that her voice would be recognizable. But, she had no clue if she could even do that, so that wasn't an option to begin with.

Sayo followed Lisa. Lisa went into a house. Sayo went after her. She vaguely recognized the house. She couldn't remember who's it was. It had been a while since she had been here.

"Yukina? Where are you at?" Sayo heard Lisa's voice from nearby.

Sayo followed her voice. She was led to a bedroom. Inside were Yukina and Lisa. Sayo watched them as they talked for a while. She wasn't too sure on what to do to get their attention. Should she try and just turn on a phone? Should she move something? What should she do?

Sayo walked closer to where the two of them were sitting on the bed. She reached out and touched them. Both noticed the change in temperature. Neither said anything about it, though. Looks like that wasn't going to work.

Sayo looked around to see what she could move. She didn't see much around. Then, her eyes landed on a notebook. That was the best thing she could move. Sayo focused and managed to knock it off of the desk it was on.

"What was that?" Lisa asked.

"It must've not been on the desk much." Yukina shrugged it off.

Sayo sighed. Of course she wouldn't think anything of it. Sayo lifted up the notebook and threw it at them. She made sure it missed hitting them. That made both of them jump.

"I don't think that can be explained." Lisa said.

Yukina didn't say anything. She picked up the notebook and looked at it. Sayo sighed. This was not going as she had planned. She looked to see if either of them had their phones out. It didn't appear like any of them did. Now what did she do?

Sayo looked around. She spotted another notebook. She knocked it off the table it was on.

"Who's there?" Lisa asked.

"You think they'll reply?" Yukina asked her.

"Well… maybe they're trying to get our attention for a reason?" Lisa offered.

"Why would they be?" Yukina asked.

Lisa shrugged, "I don't know. But, I just feel like that's the case."

Yukina rolled her eyes, "You've read too many supernatural books."

"Then explain what's going on?" Lisa challenged.

"Poltergeist? Residual? I believe those two aren't communicative." Yukina said as she pulled out her phone.

Sayo smiled. Now was her chance. She forced the phone screen off of the app Yukina was on and brought it to the notes app. Yukina's eyes widened.

"What?" Lisa asked.

"I think maybe you were right." Yukina admitted as she lowered her phone so Lisa could see it.

"Write something if you're here." Lisa said.

_Hi_

Sayo didn't know what to say. Should she have just started off saying her name? She wasn't sure.

"Who are you?" Lisa asked.

_Sayo_

"Sayo… how are you doing?"

_Fine_

"Why are you here?" Yukina asked.

_See_

_Everyone_

"Do you mind if we ask questions about what happened to you?" Lisa asked.

_No_

"Okay then. Um… do you know who killed you?" Lisa started off.

_No_

_Fake name_

"So he has a fake name. Do you know why he targeted you?" Yukina questioned.

_Guitar_

"What does you playing the guitar have to do with this? That doesn't seem right." Lisa said.

_Killed Moca_

"Wait. This is the same one who killed her? So… I guess maybe guitar isn't that far off then, huh?" Lisa sighed.

_Want_

_Daughter_

_Best_

"Huh?" Neither of them seemed to understand.

_Daughter_

_Guitar_

_Play_

_Bad_

"Um… so, he has a daughter who sucks at playing the guitar?" Lisa tried her best to piece it together.

_Yes_

_Want_

_Popular_

_In_

_Way_

"I don't get it…" Lisa mumbled.

"I think she's trying to say he wants his daughter to be the most popular guitar player around but there are a lot of people in the way." Yukina said.

Lisa stated at her with wide eyes, "How did you manage to get that?"

"I don't know." Yukina shrugged.

"Anyway, is he targeting other people right now?" Lisa asked.

_Yes_

"Who is it?" Yukina asked.

_RAS_

"RAS… so… their guitar player is next." Lisa mumbled.

"Does she know?" Yukina asked.

_Yes_

_Told her_

_See us_

"She can see you?" Lisa and Yukina both stared at each other in shock.

_Yes_

"So… anything we can do?" Yukina asked.

_No_

_Interfere_

_Die_

"Anyone gets in his way, he kills them… great." Lisa sighed.

"What about investigating?" Yukina asked, "Surely it can't be impossible to find his real identity."

_Hina_

_Looking_

"Oh, she's already on it. Maybe I'll see if she wants any help."

"Sayo, I don't know that letting Hina investigate is the best idea. She's probably a target too." Yukina said.

Sayo sighed. That was true. Hina was most likely on his list somewhere. Who knew how long it would be until she was the next victim.

"What does that have to do with this? If she figures it out-"

"That's the issue. If she gets close and he's watching her already, he'll find out. And if he finds out, he'll target her sooner." Yukina stated.

"Oh…" Lisa frowned.

Sayo knew she should warn Hina, but part of her hoped she could manage. Right now he wasn't on her trail. But, what about the assistant? What if he was? Sayo knew her watch was going to be hectic. She'd have to do some digging around to see if he did have a physical list of people he was targeting. Or maybe…

_Ranking_

_Look_

"Huh? You want the ranking for guitarists?" Lisa asked.

_Yes_

_Idea_

"Alright. Look it up, Yukina."

Yukina did so. She found the most recent ranking which was from last month. She pulled it up and waited.

Sayo examined the ranking. She read each name and tried to see if there was a connection. Sayo found her own name. It was right below Moca's. And the name right below hers? Rokka.

There was a list. It was the ranking. He was using that to decide who to target next. Sayo scanned the list for Hina's name. It was… above them? That didn't make sense. Her band was popular, so it couldn't be that. Why wasn't she a target earlier?

"Find what you were looking for?" Lisa asked.

_Kind of_

"What did you find out?" Yukina asked.

Sayo zoomed in on their three names. Yukina and Lisa exchanged glances.

"So, there's an order he's killing everyone in." Lisa said.

Then, Sayo scrolled it up to Hina's name.

"What? She's higher and yet… she's not dead? That's strange." Lisa commented.

"Perhaps he missed her name?" Yukina suggested.

"Are all the people above dead?" Lisa questioned as she pulled out her phone. She did a quick search of each name. Most were dead, but not all of them.

"That's strange. Maybe there's another ranking list he's using?" Lisa said.

"Why wouldn't he use the official one? And, it seems strange with their name order." Yukina replied.

"Well, maybe he has another plan for those people?" Lisa suggested.

"Do they all still play?" Yukina asked.

"Yeah. They all are still active. That's the strange thing." Lisa replied.

Sayo didn't know what could be the reason either. Why would some people ranked higher than her still be alive? Then, she thought of something.

_Band ranking_

"Huh? Do you think that could influence the order?" Lisa asked.

_Maybe_

"It makes sense now." Yukina stated, "Those people are in lower ranking bands. Look."

On the chart she found, the alive people were indeed in lower ranking bands. However, Afterglow wasn't above Roselia or Raise A Suilen. Now that was the mystery.

"So, it kind of makes more sense now, but where did Moca come from then?" Yukina mumbled.

"Could she have been investigating?" Lisa asked.

_Don't know_

"Can you ask her?" Yukina asked.

_Later_

_Watching_

_Killer_

"You're keeping an eye on him? Why?" Yukina questioned.

_Need info_

"On?" Lisa prodded.

_Rokka_

"You don't know when he's planning to kill her?" Yukina guessed.

_Yes_

_No idea_

"Ne, Sayo. Couldn't you like, bring some evidence to the police? He couldn't link it to anyone then." Lisa asked.

_No evidence_

"But how? How does he plan then?"

_Knows_

"He has a very good memory then." Yukina commented, "This isn't going to be easy."

"Yeah… it sucks. I wish we could do something about it…" Lisa sighed.

"The best we can do is work on figuring out who did it."

"How much progress has Hina made?" Lisa asked.

_Not much_

_Hard_

"I bet it's tough…" Lisa sighed, "He's probably responsible for a lot of these recent deaths…"

"He knows what he's doing." Yukina nodded, "But, there will be something to catch him off guard. You can't predict everything, after all."

"I guess that's true. Let's hope someone will figure it out." Lisa agreed.

_Have to go_

_Bye_

Sayo needed to leave. She needed to talk to Moca about what she discovered. This could potentially help them. If they could figure out who the next victim should be, they'll be prepared.

"Bye, Sayo." Yukina said.

"Stay alert. You and Moca are the only two who have the ability to give us info." Lisa said.

Sayo left them and went to the hideout. Moca was there. She looked bored.

"Nothing exciting happening, huh?" Sayo said as she approached.

"No… he hasn't done anything…" Moca sighed.

"I figured a little bit more out." Sayo stated, "I know how he's choosing his targets. At least, some part of it."

"Well, are you going to tell me?" Moca asked in a teasing voice.

"Knock it off." Sayo grumbled, "So, he's going by rankings. By band and guitar rankings."

"I see. Which one dominates?" Moca asked.

"Band." Sayo replied, "There are a lot of high ranking players that are alive because the bands they're in aren't that good."

"So, any idea who might be next if this fails?" Moca asked.

"No. Not yet. There's one issue with it." Sayo said.

"And what is that?" Moca questioned.

"You. You're the discrepancy. Rokka and I should've been before you if he was completely following the rankings." Sayo stated.

"I see… so he took me out early…" Moca sighed, "I can't figure out why."

"You didn't investigate it or anything, right?" Sayo asked.

"No. I didn't even think about it." Moca replied.

"So… why would he take you out early… did you get a sudden boost in ranking?" Sayo was trying to figure out any other causes.

"I don't believe so. Last I remember we hadn't moved up at all." Moca said.

"Then why on earth would he take you?" Sayo sighed.

"Hm…" Moca thought about it.

Sayo waited. She was also thinking of ways it might make sense.

"I… I think I may know." Moca said after a moment.

"What is it?" Sayo asked.

"I accidentally stumbled close to this place one day. I saw some things. Mainly just blood. I guess he decided I was a threat because of that. But… he didn't act on it for almost two weeks…" Moca explained.

"Oh. It makes sense and yet it doesn't…" Sayo sighed.

"I think he might've just been watching me to see if I'd say anything to anyone." Moca said, "I didn't. So, maybe he was planning and just waiting for the right time? If I told, he might've done it sooner?"

"I guess that makes the most amount of sense." Sayo said.

"So, you wanna switch out?" Moca asked.

"Sure." Sayo nodded.

"Let's hope we can get the information we need soon." Moca said, "Otherwise she'll just get more anxious until she knows and that might cause some problems."

"In what way?" Sayo questioned.

"If she suddenly changes her demeanor, don't you think people are gonna ask questions? What if she breaks and tells people and they try things?" Moca said.

"It's strange hearing you say that after you were willing to tell her in front of the entire band." Sayo said.

"Well, we went your way, didn't we? So we have to stick to it, right?" Moca replied.

"Alright." Sayo said.

**DIVIDER-- **

It had been two hours. Sayo had learned nothing. She was bored. Now she understood how Moca had felt earlier. This guy wasn't one that gave up info easily, even just to the air. How was she supposed to find anything out if he only kept the information inside his head.

Sayo was watching him as he clicked through a list on his computer. She got closer she realized it was a list of his victims. It looked like that was the only thing he kept track of. There was a side list with more names. Sayo recognized them as other victims. However, these victims weren't guitarists. She didn't understand.

Moca hadn't told Sayo about the assistant's job. Sayo was unaware he kept tabs on anyone investigating the deaths.

Sayo watched as he marked down stuff for each person. Then, he came to Rokka's name. It was the last on the list at the moment. He wrote something and then closed out of it. Sayo had barely caught what it was in time. It appeared to be a date. The date was going to be in two days.

Sayo quickly left to go find Moca. Now they knew when he was planning to attack. Hopefully two days was more than enough time for her to prepare. That's all they could do for her.


	6. Investigation

Hina had been busy trying to piece together whatever she could about the guy. Since Sayo's death, she had been working nonstop on figuring it out. She was getting somewhere. She had managed to make a connection in terms of location. He only targeted people in certain areas. The ones far away from those areas were fine, even if they were popular.

She made the confirmation that he was indeed targeting people based on ranking for band and guitar. Now, she just had to figure out where he might be living. She knew he was in the area. He had to be. If he was going to target another here, he'd be somewhere nearby.

Hina hadn't made a connection to the other deaths, though. She didn't realize that he had an assistant that would help. Those deaths were just a separate case to her. That could prove to be her downfall if she didn't tread carefully.

Hina had ended up deciding she needed help with this. She could only find so much on her own. Maybe having another person on the team would help. Hina wasn't sure who to talk to about it. Who would be willing to help her out?

Later that day, Hina ended up telling Kaoru about what she was doing. It just slipped out of her mouth while they were talking one day. Kaoru was more than willing to assist her in finding out who was doing it.

The two of them met up and discussed what they had found. They researched whatever they could. It was a slow and tedious process, but it was paying off. Hina felt like they were getting closer to solving the mystery. It was only a matter of time before they found out who the guy was.

Unfortunately, neither knew they had made themselves targets. Well, they would've ended up as targets eventually, but now they had been put on priority. The assistant had caught wind of someone investigating and started searching. He had located the two of them and knew they were behind it.

He had to get rid of them before they found out. So, now he just had to plan how to do so. He knew he had very limited time. They were getting close to figuring it out. That was something he knew he couldn't allow.

Meanwhile, Rokka was extremely panicked. Moca and Sayo hadn't come to tell her what they had learned yet. Rokka tried her best to not let anyone else know what was going on, but she couldn't hide her nerves all that well.

She knew she couldn't tell anyone. That would just cause them all problems. She couldn't bring herself to risk anyone else's life. She had to figure it out on her own.

It was a few hours after Sayo had learned of the time. Her and Moca had gone back to see if there was anything else they could find, but that was all he had written. No matter how much they searched, there was no other information. They didn't know how he planned to do it.

After they finally admitted defeat, they went to tell Rokka what they knew. It wasn't much, but it would help her prepare better. That's what they thought, at least. Both had doubts. Rokka wasn't that strong. It didn't seem likely that she would be able to fight off the guy if it came to that.

They found Rokka hanging out with Poppin' Party. Neither knew how to approach her. How would this work? She'd have to make an excuse to leave. They decided to wait for a bit and see if maybe the others would leave.

After a while, they did. That was a relief to them. Now it was easier to discuss this. They were alone with her. Moca entered the room first. Sayo followed behind her. Rokka jumped slightly as they appeared. They did just walk through a closed door, so they couldn't blame her for being a bit spooked.

"So… you got more info?" Rokka asked quietly.

"Yeah. Not a lot, but a little bit." Sayo nodded.

"What did you find out?"

"He's planning to kill you in two days." Sayo stated.

"When? How?" Rokka gulped.

"Not sure. Well, he only does home ones at night." Moca said.

"So… two days… that's not a lot of time…" Rokka sighed.

"Unfortunately."

"What do you think I could do? There's no way I could fight back…" Rokka mumbled, "I know I'll be too weak to escape if he grabs me."

"The best you can do is hide. If you could make him think you aren't there, you might buy yourself some time. If you could hide and call the cops, he might just get caught." Sayo suggested.

"I'll try. But, there's not really anywhere to hide." Rokka said.

"Make somewhere then. You have two days. Use them." Moca said.

"I'll try." Rokka promised.

"Oi. Who the hell you talkin' to?"

The three of them froze. Looks like they weren't all alone. Rokka had forgotten about Masuki being there. She had been silent the entire conversation, so she had forgotten she was here.

"I um… I was just… um…" Rokka had no idea what to say, "Um…"

Masuki raised an eyebrow at her. Rokka was stuttering as she tried to think of anything to say. Sayo and Moca had nothing to offer. They also had no clue what she could say to her.

"I… I'm talking to some ghosts…" Rokka eventually admitted, "If you'll believe that."

"Honestly, I don't care who you were talking to. Just what the hell were you talking about?" Masuki brushed off the answer.

"Oh… um… just something." Rokka said.

"You were talking about having to hide from someone. What's that all about?" Masuki asked.

"It's nothing." Rokka lied.

"You sounded scared. I don't think it's nothing."

"Maybe you should just run off?" Moca offered.

"That'll make things worse, you idiot!" Sayo whacked her on the back of her head.

"It was just a suggestion." Moca stuck out her tongue.

"There's nothing to worry about. I promise." Rokka said as confidently as she could.

"Who're these ghosts anyway?" Masuki obviously didn't believe her, but decided to leave it at the moment.

"U-um…" Rokka wasn't sure if she should tell her.

"Say you don't know. She doesn't need to know it's us." Sayo said.

"I don't know their names…" Rokka lied.

"Then ask 'em." Masuki stated.

"They left already." Rokka said.

"I don't know what going on with you, but I know something's up." Masuki said, "I'll be keeping a close eye on you."

With that, she left the room. She walked right through Sayo and Moca to leave. Masuki didn't react other than a slight change of expression from the sudden cold.

"That was close…" Rokka sighed once she was sure Masuki had left.

"Yeah." Sayo and Moca nodded.

"If she found out, what would happen?" Rokka asked.

"It depends. If she tries to protect you, she's gonna end up getting killed too. If she investigates and gets somewhere with it, his assistant is going to kill her." Moca explained.

Sayo froze up. She was panicking now.

"What's wrong, Sayo?" Rokka nodded.

Moca glanced over at her, "Yeah. Something wrong?"

"H-Hina's trying to investigate…" Sayo admitted.

"Fuck. That's bad." Moca groaned.

"What should we do?" Sayo asked, "If she's already made progress… stopping now won't change anything…"

"You go see what she's accomplished. We'll continue to think of what to do." Moca waved her off.

"Okay." Sayo didn't need to be told twice.

She rushed home to see what was going on there.

"Can we go to my room?" Rokka asked, "It's more private…"

"Sure. Let's go!" Moca nodded.

The two of them made their way to her room. Once they were inside they continued the conversation.

"Moca, is there a chance he'll attack early?" Rokka asked.

"Yes, there's always a chance." Moca nodded, "But, unless you make him worried, he won't change his plans. Hell, I found a murder scene of his one time and he still took two weeks to kill me after that."

"Really? Why?" Rokka asked.

"Because I told no one. If I had told someone, he definitely would've attacked me sooner. Well, he actually did. If we're right with the way he chooses his target, I should've been third, not you. It should've been Sayo, you, and then me. Moca said.

"I see…" Rokka nodded, "So, um, can you tell me what he did to you?"

"I guess." Moca replied, "He broke into my room and gouged out my right eye. Then he shoved the knife down my throat and twisted it."

"Oh… was… was Sayo's death as bad?" Rokka stammered.

Moca nodded, "Yes. Her throat was cut open and the inside was all cut up."

"While she was alive!?" Rokka's eyes shot open wide.

"Yeah…" Moca nodded solemnly.

"So… my death is going to be… like that?" Rokka asked in fear.

"Most likely." Moca said, "He's done it that way to all his victims."

"I'm scared…" Rokka whimpered.

"I know. Why don't we see what you could use to hide?" Moca suggested.

"Okay." Rokka agreed.

That's what the two of them did. There wasn't much to work with, so they started thinking of things they could put in the room to make a hiding place.

While they were doing that, Sayo was making her way to her house. She was going as fast as she could, but it was pretty far. She was worried. Who knew if she was already a target?

Sayo made it to the house. She ran inside. It felt too quiet. Way too quiet. She ran upstairs and was going to run into Hina's room. She stopped. What she saw was not what she wanted to see.


	7. Not Fast Enough

Sayo entered upon a scene she didn't want to ever see. There was an unknown person in the room. Sayo guessed that was the assistant. He had a meat cleaver and was towering over Hina and Kaoru.

That wasn't the worst part, though. Both of them had obvious wounds on them. But, even worse than that, Kaoru was severely injured. She was bleeding from many wounds. The biggest wound? Her left arm was missing. The man had cut it off.

"Still alive? I'm impressed. I thought that much blood loss would've killed you." The assistant chuckled.

"You… you won't get away with this." Kaoru growled.

"Oh? I think I will." The assistant smirked as he sliced down with the cleaver.

This cut took off Kaoru's other arm. She screamed in pain. Sayo flinched. Was there anything she could do? She didn't know. Nothing would save Kaoru. It was too late. But, maybe there was a chance to save Hina?

Sayo spotted a phone. If she could call the police, maybe they could arrive in time to save her? Sayo was going to try. She did it as quickly as possible, but it was hard.

"K-Kaoru…" Hina whimpered.

"R-run…"

"I can't!"

"Indeed. You won't have the chance too." The assistant smiled sadistically.

Sayo wished she could yell at her to run. But, she didn't think it would work. Sayo ran up to her and tugged on her sleeve. She hoped Hina would get the hint.

Hina seemed to get some of it. But, she shook her head. Sayo growled and tugged harder. Hina resisted still. Sayo didn't know what to do. She needed Hina to run before it was too late.

"How are you still alive? There can't be that much blood left in you." The assistant growled.

"Go ahead and kill me yourself then." Kaoru challenged.

"Very well. Then it'll be you next." The assistant smirked at Hina.

Hina gulped. She tried to say something, but nothing came out at all. Just strange sounds. No words came out of her.

Sayo used as much energy as she could to yank Hina upward as the assistant dealt the final blow to Kaoru. He sliced her head off with his cleaver. Hina screamed in terror. Sayo quickly drug her out of the room. She used the rest of her energy to lock the assistant in the room.

He banged on the door and tried to break it open, but it didn't work. Hina was shaking as she curled up into a ball. Sayo couldn't blame her. It was a very traumatizing event to have to witness.

Sayo willed herself to be able to appear. That could help. If she could physically talk to Hina, it would make this a whole lot better. Sayo jammed the door shut with different large object to make sure he couldn't get out when she let go of her hold on the door.

Sayo managed to flicker into existence. Hina didn't notice. She had her head buried in her knees. Sayo knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. It went right through her, sadly. That meant she couldn't give her any physical comfort.

Hina didn't react to the touch. Sayo frowned. Would her voice work? She hoped so.

"Hina…" Sayo whispered.

Hina perked up. Her eyes went wide as she saw Sayo. She tried to hug her, but went right through her instead.

"I'm sorry… I don't know that I have the energy to become solid." Sayo apologized.

"Onee-chan…" Hina cried, "Why'd he come after us?"

"Apparently… the guy who killed me… has an assistant. That's who that was. He… goes after people who investigate…" Sayo said, "I'm sorry… if I would've known I would've told you…"

"I'm scared… what if he comes back for me?"

"He won't. I've locked him in the room. I also managed to call the police. Hopefully he'll get arrested and then you don't have to worry." Sayo replied.

"Is he still in the room? What if he jumped out the window?" Hina asked.

Sayo forgot about that. She vanished and went to check. He was still in the room, thankfully. But, he was trying to get out of the window. Sayo slammed him backward onto the floor and then shut the window. She moved a dresser in the way and hoped it would stall him enough until the police came.

They arrived a minute later. They moved the blockade form the door and burst into the room. The man was arrested. He tried to get them to shoot and kill him, but they didn't. They managed to restrain him with very little issue.

Sayo managed to appear again. She hoped only Hina could see her. She tried to think hard about making it so, but she wasn't sure if her thoughts helped make things happen.

Hina was still curled up on the floor. Sayo leaned against her, even if she went through her. Hina seemed to relax at the feeling. A few minutes later, an ambulance pulled up to deal with the aftermath. Hina was taken to the hospital to be treated for her wounds.

Sayo went with her to try and help her stay calm. But, she felt herself weakening. She wouldn't be able to stay visible for much longer.

Sayo vanished from sight once Hina was settled into the hospital. She hugged her, even if it was a very awkward hug, and then left. She went to find Moca and tell her what happened.

Sayo found her at the base. She walked over to her. Moca seemed focused on something. Sayo looked. The man was working away on something on his computer. Sayo just hoped a report hadn't come out yet about the attack.

"What are you looking at?" Sayo asked.

"I think he's changed the date. He's doing it tonight." Moca said quietly.

"Did you tell her yet?" Sayo asked.

"No… should we go now?" Moca replied.

Sayo nodded, "Yeah. Let's go."

"So… um, what happened with Hina?" Moca asked as they walked to Rokka's house.

"He was there…" Sayo whispered, "Apparently Hina asked Kaoru to help out…"

"What happened to them?" Moca asked, worry very clear in her voice.

"Kaoru is dead…" Sayo said, "I managed to get Hina away from him before she was next. Unfortunately, I couldn't have saved Kaoru… she was too far gone by the time I arrived."

"Where's the guy now?" Moca questioned.

"In jail." Sayo said, "I managed to call the cops so… they got him."

"I see. Hopefully they'll get the location out of him so this can all be over." Moca said.

"Yeah. Now, we just have to manage to save her and it'll be good." Sayo nodded.

"Let's hope we can." Moca agreed.

The two of them made it to Rokka. She was startled to see them so soon.

"Sadly, his assistant was faster than we were." Moca announced, "Kaoru died…"

"Why was she there?" Rokka asked.

"She ended up helping with the investigation." Sayo explained.

"So… another one is dead…" Rokka sighed.

"You will be too if you don't prepare. He changed his date to tonight. You're running out of time." Moca said in an urgent voice.

"W-What!?" Rokka yelped in panic.

"I don't know why, but he changed it." Moca said, "So, please be prepared."

"Will you guys be here?" Rokka asked, "When he comes?"

"I'm not sure. It depends on what else we may have to do." Moca shrugged, "We'll try to come."

"Okay…"

"You can do it." Sayo said, "You just need to believe in yourself."

"But… but how can I escape a killer?" Rokka asked.

"You and Moca made a plan, did you not?" Sayo questioned.

Rokka nodded, "We did."

"Then follow the plan and you'll feel more confident. You know what you need to do. You're prepared." Sayo said.

"Weren't you prepared?" Moca asked.

"I had made a mistake. I had positioned myself in a way that easily got me cornered." Sayo admitted, "It was a stupid mistake on my part."

"Were you scared?" Rokka asked.

Sayo nodded, "Of course I was. Who wouldn't be when they knew someone was out to kill them?"

"I'm sure you can do it, Rokka." Moca said, "I have faith in you."

"I don't have faith in me…" Rokka mumbled.

"You can do it! Just keep telling yourself that." Moca tried to be positive.

Rokka sighed. This wasn't easy. Her nerves were all over the place. She was terrified. She was scared she'd freeze up during the plan and get caught.

"I'm sorry we can't do much more to help you." Sayo apologized, "I wish we could do more."

"You're doing your best." Rokka said, "At least I know what he's planning so I'm not taken completely by surprise."

"Yeah… I just wish we could've gotten him caught already." Sayo sighed.

"Hopefully now that his assistant is in jail, he will get arrested." Moca said.

"Speaking of that." Sayo looked at Rokka, "I suggest the moment you know he's here, you call the police. Whether or not you speak doesn't matter. As long as they can hear what's going on, they'll come out. They can track your location."

"I-I'll do my best!" Rokka promised.


	8. Unlucky

Sayo and Moca were off doing their own things. Sayo had gone to check up on Hina. Moca went to see how Afterglow were doing.

Rokka was holed up in her room. She was terrified. She had no idea when he would come for her. She just had to keep an ear out for him. That was easier said than done.

Every little noise spooked her. She jumped at the slightest creek. Rokka was holding a blanket tightly. It was something to try and help comfort her. It wasn't working too well, though.

Rokka heard footsteps. She gulped and cowered behind a dresser. She tried to steady her breathing. This could be the end if she wasn't careful.

"Lock? You home?"

Rokka felt no relief. Masuki being here with her was not a good thing. She would get hurt too. But, how could she get her to leave?

"Y-yeah." Rokka came out of her hiding spot.

Masuki opened the door to her room. Rokka tried to smile, but failed. Her nerves were too much to hide.

"You alright? You seem pretty spooked." Masuki asked as she sat down beside her.

Rokka nodded, "I'm fine. You just… startled me."

"I know that's a lie." Masuki eyed her up.

Rokka gulped. She was going to say something when a loud bang resonated throughout the house. Both her and Masuki jumped. Rokka knew who was making those sounds. He had arrived.

That wasn't good. Masuki was still here. Rokka didn't know what to do. It was too late for her to leave. He was already in the house.

"What was-"

Rokka quickly threw her hands over Masuki's mouth. She held a finger to lips and then tugged her toward the dresser. She hid behind it and hoped Masuki would get the message.

The door burst open. Masuki protectively threw her arms around Rokka. They both hid out, praying he wouldn't find them.

"I know you're here, Rokka." The man called.

He shoved the dresser to the side. Both of them screamed. The man growled at the sight of Masuki. He hadn't planned for there being someone else around.

"Be lucky I'm feeling generous." The man growled as he grabbed Masuki.

Masuki fought against him. The man wasn't fazed by the attacks. He slammed her into the wall as hard as he could. It knocked her out.

Rokka yelped as the man turned to her. He smiled sadistically.

"Now, shall we begin?" He pulled out a knife, "I quite like the thought of taking out your heart."

Rokka tried to run for the door, but he caught her. Rokka screamed as she kicked as hard as she could. The killer tossed her onto the floor. He held her down as he thrust his knife into her chest.

Rokka screamed in pain as she started cutting. He cut a very sloppy circle out of her chest. Rokka had started coughing up blood. Her mouth was filled with it.

She could barely breathe and was hanging on just barely. She wished she could pass out. It would be so much better. She wouldn't have to suffer through this horrible pain.

"Don't worry. It'll be over soon." The man chuckled, "Time to take out your heart."

He cut the arteries. Rokka finally blacked out. The killer removed her heart and tossed it out into the open. He glanced at Masuki.

"What a wonderful present you'll wake up to, right?" He laughed and then left.

**DIVIDER-- **

Masuki groaned in pain. She winced as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her head was killing her. Masuki blinked to clear her vision.

She wished she hadn't. Masuki let out a scream as she saw the scene before her. She threw up at the sight. Masuki shakily pushed herself to her feet and left the room.

She sunk down to the floor and tried to even out her breathing. She fumbled for her phone and called the police.

It was then that Moca showed up. Moca felt horrible. She had failed again. Rokka was dead. Moca frowned as she watched Masuki.

Should she try and appear? Moca knew she should be able to. If Sayo managed then she should be able to manage it too. But, was it wise? Should she just watch?

Moca hesitantly appeared. Masuki jumped. She calmed a little when she realized Moca wasn't a threat.

"Um… hey?" Moca wasn't sure what to say, "I'm sorry… I thought for sure the plan we made would've worked."

"It's my fault… I messed it up." Masuki mumbled, "Because I came over."

"How are you alive? I thought he would've killed you too." Moca asked.

Masuki shrugged, "I don't know. He just said he was feeling generous and then knocked me out."

"Well, at least two lives weren't lost. It could've easily ended up that way." Moca didn't think that was going to make this situation any better, but she said it anyway.

The police showed up. Moca sighed. She vanished from sight. She watched as they did their job.

"Hey."

Moca turned around. Sayo had come.

"Hey…"

"He was caught." Sayo stated.

"How?" Moca asked.

"They found him walking down the street with blood all over him." Sayo said, "And his assistant gave a description so he was easy to identify."

"So, it's over?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, shall we go see where Rokka and Kaoru are? Might as well welcome them to the afterlife." Moca asked.

"I guess." Sayo agreed.

The two of them vanished and went to the other side. While they felt glad that the killer had finally been caught, nothing would lighten their hearts. Four lives were lost to him in such a short time. And now everyone else had to suffer from their deaths.

And, three people had permanent scars. Permanent emotional scars.

Ran, because she had found Moca. Hina, because she found Sayo and watched Kaoru die. And Masuki, because she saw Rokka. Those three had to live with those images for probably the rest of their lives. To live with the guilt of not being fast enough.

Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending.


End file.
